Wednesday, January 27, 1999

Mourners attend the funeral of Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two sons Philips, 10, and Timothy, 8, in Baripada on Monday — AP/PTI

4 killed, 50 injured as
fire engulfs shanties
CALCUTTA, Jan 26 — At least four persons were killed and more than 50 injured when a devastating fire engulfed about 1,200 shanties along the Narkeldanga canal in East Calcutta today.

Police arrests Mohanty in Anjana gangrape case
CUTTACK, Jan 26 — In a major breakthrough in the Anjana Mishra gangrape case, the police today nabbed Dhirendra Mohanty, alias Tuna Mohanty, one of the three accused, from the Orissa's Jajpur district.

ULFA blows up oil pipeline, kills cops
GUWAHATI, Jan 26 — ULFA militants today blew up an oil pipeline, killed two CRPF personnel and injured nine in Assam as a general strike called by six insurgent outfits to boycott the Republic Day celebrations partially affected normal life in the state.

Journalist's murder: relatives' involvement ruled out
NEW DELHI, Jan 26 — The police today ruled out the involvement of any blood relation in the murder of the Indian Express scribe Shivani Bhatnagar but suspected that the killer had a friendly entry in her house. Meanwhile the IJU has expressed shock at the brutal murder of Shivani.

Vajpayee deputes Fernandes to visit Manoharpur

NEW DELHI, Jan 26 (UNI) — Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee today deputed a three-member ministerial team, headed by defence minister Geroge Fernandes to visit Manoharpur village in Orissa where Australian missionary Graham Stewart Staines and his two minor sons were burnt alive by suspected Bajrang Dal activists.

The decision was taken at a Cabinet meeting at his official residence to discuss the growing attacks on Christians, with particular reference to Orissa, Information and Broadcasting Minister Pramod Mahajan.said

The other two members of the team are Human Resource Development Minister Murli Manohar Joshi and Steel and Mines Minister Naveen Patnaik.

The PM has already directed the Orissa government to take stern action against the culprits and take necessary steps for the protection of minorities.

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has also deputed its Director-General (Investigations) D.R. Karthikeyan to make an on-the-spot study of the situation in Manoharpur.

MP picks missionary's watch as cops loiter

BHUBANESHWAR, Jan 26 (PTI)— A CPI MP and the party's national executive member Gurudas Dasgupta today claimed that he had picked up a half-burnt watch from inside the stationwagon in which the Australian missionary and his two sons had been burnt to death on Friday in Keonjhar district of Orissa.

"This might be the one used by the missionary who was burnt to death along with his sons," he told reporters here after a visit to the village.

He said he would show the watch to the President, whom he planned to meet in connection with the tragic incident.

He also showed the watch to the journalists which had stopped at 12.35 a.m. Its metal band, which had been blackened, was intact, but the glass cover was missing.

"This shows the irresponsible manner in which the investigation into the incident is going on," he said, adding it was a failure on the part of the investigating agency not to have recovered the watch. They should have seized all half burnt articles from the two vehicles, which were torched by the culprits.

Asked if the policemen present there did not object to his picking up the watch, the CPI leader said: "There was nobody to object. They were simply loitering."

4 killed, 50 injured as fire engulfs shanties

CALCUTTA, Jan 26 (PTI) — At least four persons were killed and more than 50 injured when a devastating fire engulfed about 1,200 shanties along the Narkeldanga canal in East Calcutta today.

Director of Fire Brigade B.B. Pathak said four charred bodies were extricated from the rubble, while about 50 injured persons were sent to various hospitals and treatment camps.

Among the injured were four policemen, one fire-fighter and one ambulance driver who were mobbed by persons protesting against the late arrival of fire tenders, hospital sources said.

The mob also smashed two police jeeps and two motorbikes and tried to push in burnt handcarts inside the Narkeldanga police station, the police said.

Two companies of the RAF have been deployed in the area to restore calm.

Mr Pathak said the fire could have possibly spread from an oven and then quickly engulfed the shanties made of plastic sheets and other inflammable material.

Minister for Fire Services Pratim Chatterjee said an enquiry has been ordered into the cause of the fire.

Police arrests Mohanty in Anjana
gangrape case

CUTTACK, Jan 26 (PTI)— In a major breakthrough in the Anjana Mishra gangrape case, the police today nabbed Dhirendra Mohanty, alias Tuna Mohanty, one of the three accused, from the Orissa's Jajpur district.

Acting on a tip-off, one of the investigating officers of the crime branch of police arrested Dhirendra, a youth from Jaraka under the Dharamsala police station in the district, about 50 km from here, the police said.

Mohanty is being interrogated, they said.

Police is yet to arrest the third accused Biban Biswal, who has absconded.

Padia Sahu, another accused in the case, had been arrested within hours of the crime on January 9.

Anjana, the estranged wife of a senior IFS officer, had in her FIR alleged that she had been gangraped by three persons near Baranga while on her way to Cuttack.

ULFA blows up oil pipeline, kills cops

GUWAHATI, Jan 26 (PTI)— ULFA militants today blew up an oil pipeline, killed two CRPF personnel and injured nine in Assam as a general strike called by six insurgent outfits to boycott the Republic Day celebrations partially affected normal life in the state.

Official sources said the militants blew up a portion of the Oil India Limited pipeline at Saraipung reserve forest near Digboi at midnight triggering spillage of crude.

In an ambush in Sibsagar district, two CRPF men were killed and nine injured when ULFA militants fired from automatic weapons on a patrol party near a bridge.

Additional SP (Security) R. Chetia, who was leading the patrol party, was among the five securitymen injured while two civilians and two drivers were also hurt.

Army and paramilitary forces have launched a combing operation in the area to nab the militants who escaped to a nearby forest, the sources said.

Journalist's murder: relatives'
involvement ruled out

NEW DELHI, Jan 26 (PTI)— The police today ruled out the involvement of any blood relation in the murder of the Indian Express scribe Shivani Bhatnagar but suspected that the killer had a friendly entry in her house.

"Involvement of any blood relation of the victim is virtually ruled out as seven fingerprints lifted from the spot do not match with that of any of her close relatives," one of the senior police officials probing the case said.

During the preliminary investigation, the needle of suspicion was on Mr B.S. Bhatnagar, a relative of the family, who had informed the police about the incident.

"An exhaustive investigation is being made so that no angle is left unprobed. Our boys are working on all angles but unfortunately we have had no success so far," the official said.

So far, the police has interrogated several persons, including family members and neighbours of Shivani and watchman of the apartment where the incident took place.

Shivani's maid Vijaya, who was present at the victim's residence just a couple of hours before the gruesome killing, was interrogated today, the police said.

Meanwhile, near and dear ones of Shivani continued to pour in at her Navkunj apartment residence to convey their condolences.

IJU expresses shock at Shivani's murder

NEW DELHI, Jan 26 (PTI) — The Indian Journalists' Union (IJU) today expressed shock at the brutal murder of Shivani and demanded the government must act fast to ensure the killers were brought to book without delay.

Claiming Shivani was the sixth media person murdered in the recent past and that none of the cases had been solved by the police so far, the IJU president Suresh Akhouri in a release said the centre and the state governments must ensure full protection to the journalists.

"IJU in this context reiterates its longstanding demand of compulsory insurance of journalists of all categories", he said, adding "as journalists are generally low-paid middle class employees with society and politics getting increasingly criminalised, a great many journalists expose themselves routinely to risks in performing their professional duties".